Hofstra teams pitch campus business ideas
Kyle Dillon leads his Hofstra University team as they propose a night bus service to bankers and faculty Friday. Two other teams also pitched business ideas. The winner will get start-up backing. (Nov. 4, 2011) Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa
What kind of business services will Hofstra University students get from their fellow students? The options include buses that run at night, healthy food delivered in all weather, or custom silk-screened T-shirts.
Three teams of students presented their ideas for companies at the Hempstead campus Friday before Capital One bankers and administrators at Hofstra's Frank G. Zarb School of Business. They will decide in the next few days which team will win between $4,000 and $5,000 to run a business for a year.
Nite Owl is the name for a late-night bus service; Dutch Delivery would bring snacks and other goodies to students in their dorm rooms at night, and ArtRoyalTee would make the T-shirts.
Kyle Dillon, on the Nite Owl team, said the business would provide safety and reliability to students. Sam Sasson, also of Nite Owl, said a survey of 200 students showed 86 percent wanted such a service. Rides would cost $2; six rides would be $10.
Jon ElKordi-Hubbard, of Dutch Delivery, said the business would undersell goods offered by Hofstra. His team put up a chart showing that Hofstra sold Oreo cookies for $5.99, Dutch Delivery's price would be $3.99.
Nathan Wasserman, of Art-RoyalTee, said the business would take designs submitted by customers and print them on T-shirts. The designs could be submitted online.
The teams had to write business plans and come up with details to support their claims, according to Andrew Corrado, market president Nassau County Capital One Bank. The winning team does not have to show a profit at the end of the year, Corrado said. “It's all about financial literacy,” he said.
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